Pi most definitely has a man vs. nature conflict in that he has to survive in a tiny life boat for 227 days. Getting enough caloric intake is definitely a problem as well as being able to obtain enough freshwater. To make matters worse, Pi has to share his life boat space with a tiger that is quite capable of killing him anytime it wants to. Coinciding with these struggles is Pi's internal conflict with maintaining his hope for survival. Those obstacles are likely to be the conflicts that most readers associate with this book, but they are not the only powerful forces at work against Pi.
Peer pressure is another powerful force that works in conflict against Pi. Readers need to remember that Pi is a kid. He's young, and what other kids say to him can be quite hurtful. Pi gives readers a good example of this struggle when he tells readers how other children would tease him about his name.
The cruelty of children comes as news to no one. The words would waft across the yard to my ears, unprovoked, uncalled for: "Where's Pissing? I've got to go." Or: "You're facing the wall. Are you Pissing?" Or something of the sort. I would freeze or, the contrary, pursue my activity, pretending not to have heard. Thesound would disappear, but the hurt would linger, like the smell of piss long after it has evaporated.
Pi eventually fights back against this particular brand of teasing by linking his name to the mathematical Pi that is 3.14.
Another obstacle that Pi struggles with appears at the very end of the book. This obstacle is doubt. Mr. Chiba and Mr. Okamoto simply do not believe Pi's story.
"Mr. Patel, we don't believe your story."
"Sorry—these cookies are good but they tend to crumble. I'm amazed. Why not?"
"It doesn't hold up."
The two men doubt Pi for a variety of reasons. His story is indeed incredible, and they likely also doubt Pi because he is so young. Pi is forced to debate with the men in an attempt to prove what he said is (or could be) true. Pi even gets angry at one point that the two men can't fathom the fact that Pi could be telling the truth.
"Don't you bully me with your politeness! Love is hard to believe, ask any lover. Life is hard to believe, ask any scientist. God is hard to believe, ask any believer. What is your problem with hard to believe?"
"We're just being reasonable."
"So am I! I applied my reason at every moment."
Pi will eventually retell his story in a much more plausible way, yet the men are not satisfied because neither story explains what caused the accident in the first place.
Yann Martel's Life of Pi is an intriguing survival story. The main character, Pi Patel, must overcome multiple seemingly insurmountable obstacles during his 227-day journey at sea. Notably, he must keep himself and a 450-pound Bengal tiger fed and hydrated without also becoming the tiger's meal. Just gaining access to the lifeboat's supply store takes incredible courage and creativity since he must maneuver around the ferocious beast.
In addition to the everyday challenges of nature—burning sun exposure and soaking rains—he faces some fierce electrical and wind storms while on the open sea. He faces extreme health challenges: the constant presence of salt creates boils on his body, he becomes malnourished, and he goes temporarily blind.
He faces powerful moral and spiritual challenges as well. He must continue to cling to his faith despite constant hardships and disappointments, including encountering a ship that passes him by. Although he is a vegetarian, he must discard those scruples and learn to eat turtles and fish to survive. Indeed, he eventually eats human flesh—the flesh of the blind man who would have eaten Pi if the tiger hadn't killed the man first.
He must deal with emotional trauma knowing his family members have probably all died, and he must fight constant loneliness, having no other human to talk to for 227 days except the would-be cannibal. In one of his most surprising encounters, he must escape a carnivorous island that he had hoped would prove to be a safe refuge for him and the tiger.
The wide range of challenges and obstacles that Pi faces and overcomes makes this book a unique and gripping survival tale.
Pi narrates both his early life and his ordeal on the lifeboat. As a sensitive boy, he seems at the mercy of all forces. His full name, Piscine, is a terrible burden (because it sounds like "pissing"), so other boys tease him. The impact of the global political economy on India precipitates his family's move to Canada, which ends up costing Pi his family.
Adrift in the lifeboat, Pi's greatest opponent is nature. He and the animals do not know what the sea and weather will do or whether they will be rescued.
As hunger, dehydration, and the elements take their toll, blindness and the threat of mental breakdown loom large.
In Pi's view, the most powerful forces he faces, day in and day out, are Richard Parker and the hyena. After the hyena's death, Pi gradually works to establish dominance over Richard Parker.
After Pi is rescued, during his recovery, he changes his views on many aspects of those forces and obstacles.
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